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Does Your Alarm Still Call Out on a Landline? How to Check and What to Do

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Does your alarm still call out on a landline? How to check and what to do

If your alarm was built to dial out over a phone line, it may not reach anyone once that line is gone. Here’s how to check, and your options.

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Many alarm systems installed years ago were built to dial out over a phone line. Phone companies have been retiring traditional copper lines in many areas, and plenty of homes and businesses have dropped the landline altogether. If your alarm still depends on that line, it may not be able to reach anyone when it matters.

HOW TO TELL

Four quick checks

  1. Look at the panel. Is there a phone cord running from the alarm panel to a phone jack?
  2. Look at the phone bill. Businesses often still pay for a line that only the alarm uses.
  3. Think back. Did the alarm stop sending signals after you changed phone or internet service?
  4. Ask your provider. How does the system communicate today, and when did it last send a test signal?

YOUR OPTIONS

What to do if it still uses a phone line

  • Add a cellular communicator to a compatible panel, if the rest of the system is in good shape.
  • Move to an Alarm.com panel. Alarm.com systems use a dedicated, two-way cellular connection between your property and the Alarm.com platform, and add app control and video.
  • Keep the wired sensors that are compatible, so you don’t pay to replace what still works.
Illuminated security keypad mounted on a wall

FOR BUSINESSES

Before you drop the line

  • If a phone line exists only for the burglar alarm, moving the alarm to a cellular connection may let you cancel it. Confirm with your phone provider first.
  • Fire alarm systems have their own code requirements. Ask your fire alarm provider or local fire marshal before changing how a fire panel communicates.
  • After any phone, internet or alarm change, ask your provider to run a test signal and confirm it arrived.

Next: how switching to Alarm.com works · Alarm.com for Business · Alarm.com for homes

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